Have you ever felt that no matter what you do, you just can’t get into the groove academically? Despite your greatest efforts, you end up with average grades at best. Well, me too! For the longest time, I was stuck in that rut. No matter how much I tried, I felt like I didn’t have the chops to succeed academically, while most of my peers excelled. Was it because they were gifted? Or was I just simply stupid? Well, the truth, which may surprise you, is that neither was true.

Becoming a genius in any field is attributed to a bunch of factors. Sure, there may be some Mozarts or Da Vincis running around with their naturally gifted talents, but the vast majority of “geniuses” that we come across in our day-to-day life or academic journey are no better than you or me. Then you may ask yourself, “Hey Ausaaf, why am I left behind in academic shambles while they get straight A’s or have the dream GPA?” It boils down to one thing—opportunistic hunting. If you grew up watching National Geographic or the Discovery Channel, I’m pretty sure you know what an opportunistic hunter is. Hyenas, eagles, spiders? In the most basic sense, these creatures hunt by patiently waiting for their prey to come into a position where they can trap or ambush them. Now, what does this have to do with getting a 4.0 in your upcoming semester? Think about it this way: just like an opportunistic hunter, you need to set yourself up for the highest chance of success. This includes planning ahead, getting your resources right, and figuring out all the cards you can play at any given moment. Additionally, you need to pounce when the opportunity lines up, which means not letting laziness, second thoughts, or sheer emotion get in the way.

Before I get into my personal tips for getting your academic groove back, I want to share a small story. I was born in India but raised for most of my life in Dubai. I attended all 12 years of my school education here. I was a good kid for the most part as I did what was asked of me and tried my best not to disappoint my parents and teachers. Typical Asian stereotype, some might say. Life was great, and the sheer social satisfaction of being in a circle of smart people and being praised by everyone around you was addicting.

Then reality hit. In 11th grade, during the first of the three exams I had for the school year, I ended up astronomically bombing my physics exam and almost flunking chemistry, which were two out of the five subjects I had. Not a great look for the poster boy. If you think I made a massive comeback or a quick 180 in the remaining two exams, you would be wrong. The second exam rolled in four months later, and I did manage to fare a little better but only marginally—still not good enough. I capped the year off with the finals, which were better than the first two but still horrible by my school's standards.

You might think, "Stuff like this happens. You just had a bad year." And yes, that's true, but the harsh reality was more than just bad grades. As the year progressed, I found myself spiraling into depressive episodes, with the thought of not being good enough constantly looming over me. It got to the point where I genuinely feared I might not pass the 11th grade. My parents have always been very supportive, and they did their best to provide me with the right tools and help to regain my confidence. But did it work? Not in the slightest. I tried and tried, but made no headway. Countless hours of studying led nowhere.

What made it a billion times worse was seeing my closest friends getting near-perfect scores. I am not the type of guy who can't handle others' success, but this was a new kind of feeling then. I will label this—the academic fall from grace. Anyways, I got through the 11th grade and proceeded onwards to the final year of high school, right before graduating.

Fast forward to the fall of 2021. My first semester as a freshman at university. A naïve 19-year-old hoping for a new start and trying very hard to forget the traumas of high school. I was so tired of being trapped in that “dark place” that I swore I would do everything in my power to never go back. It is 2024 at the time of writing this post. I have finished my junior year and down to my last two semesters. I have maintained a 3.81 CGPA over the last three years and I am aiming for pushing it even higher before I graduate. Not only that, I have been involved in four research projects, while currently co-authoring two publications. Furthermore, I have been a part of five clubs thus far and I am a continuing member of two academic societies. I’ve also worked two part-time jobs and made a decent income on the side (more on this in another post). It’s not all work though; I am an amateur kickboxer, qualified diver, and part of a professional swim team.

If there ever was an academic rags-to-riches story, I think mine would be a strong contender. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I mention this to let you know that anything is possible. You, my friend, are more than capable of turning your life for the better. Now, what is the secret sauce? Well, I sat down and pondered exactly what got me out of my academic purgatory, and here are 7 things that stood out by a long shot. So, enough of my yammering, let’s jump right into it –

1) Hit that Factory Reset

Before we start talking academics, I want to begin with something a little different. I feel like most people I talk to these days are holding on to something. It sounds cliché, but letting go of the past is exactly what you need to do. From the perspective of the body, we are one person, one entity. But if you count all the forms of us that ever were, you would have a dozen different people. The point is, you have to stop being hung up on past, less ideal versions of yourself.

In Hindi, there is a saying, “Jo hona tha, wo hogya,” which means, “Whatever had to happen has happened.” What do you do now? Clear your mind. Hit that reset button. All this is easier said than done, trust me. But the moment you start letting go, you give yourself the room to grow. Go on a drive, go for a hike, take up a hobby, talk to your best bud, or if you are like me, just talk to yourself. Use the power of self-talk and introspection to be your own hype man. Whatever it is, just try to bury the past and start with a clean slate.

2) Set Clear Goals

Now that your mind is clear, it is time to set some clear long-term and short-term goals for yourself. They always say, "Shoot for the stars so you can land on the moon." Though that may hold true in the long run, when you're in the dumps and looking for short-term improvements, that may not be the best advice. Instead, make small positive increments in the right direction. If you got a 40 on your last test, aim for 60 on the next one. If you got 60, go for 75.

Write your goals down for the school term or the semester in big bold letters on an A0 sheet or a whiteboard. Hang it up on your room wall or any place where you can see it first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed. Visualize. Manifest. Half the battle is lost in your mind when you think it's too crazy of an idea or that you don’t have what it takes. I say nonsense. You can get the dream GPA or grades you want regardless of your track record so far. Just take it one bite-sized piece at a time, and before you know it, the whole meal will be over.

3) Time is Your Biggest Enemy and Your Best Ally

Ah, the duality of time. Everyone seems to have their own take or interpretation of what time means to them, and that's absolutely alright. So, here’s mine on the matter: time is a two-way street. If you can manage it properly, you immediately get ahead of the curve, and if you squander it, you won’t even notice it slipping away.

"Oh Ausaaf, another time management post? Really? Every self-improvement guru in a 30-mile radius has tried injecting me with time management tips at some point." Well, it’s about time you realize the importance of it all (see what I did there?). Jokes aside, think about it this way: everyone on this planet has the same 24 hours, 7 to 9 of which are spent sleeping. What about the remaining 15? Well, it’s absolutely up to you how you use it. Pretty generic advice, I know, but the beauty lies in its simplicity.

As a student, try to get off your phone. Cut your screen time from 7 to 6 hours, or from 5 to 4 hours, etc. Remember, small positive increments. Try to head to bed on time and wake up on time. Be consistent with what you do. Set up a small checklist of tasks you want to cover the next day. Set up timers for each task and get at it. Try to minimize distractions and so on and so forth. Again, there’s a lot to unpack in just a single post, but I’ll be covering a bunch of these topics in the future, so stay tuned. Each second you have is a precious resource, and you don’t have an endless supply of those, so be mindful of how you decide to use it.

4) Stay Organized

Staying organized is highly underrated, but it’s a game-changer. Personally, this one trick boosted my productivity and academic performance tenfold. Our minds are already cluttered as it is, and we often fail to realize that our surroundings can be just as messy. Trust me, a clean and organized workspace is the ultimate cheat code for boosting productivity.

Keep your study space tidy and free from distractions. Use folders, binders, or digital tools to organize your notes, assignments, and study materials efficiently. This way, your mind isn’t bogged down, and you can tackle tasks more systematically. It might sound like a stretch, but that’s how the human brain works. The less mess you have on the outside, the less mess you’ll have inside your head. Staying organized doesn’t just mean cleaning your desk and getting rid of junk. It also means organizing your schedule. Set up proper and realistic study schedules. Plan your tasks and stick to them.

5) Use All Cards at Your Disposal

The day I started treating university and life in general like one huge video game, I began seeing some real changes. Alright, before you call me crazy, just give me a second to explain. In our day-to-day life, we all have missions or tasks we need to complete, and each mission or task has a long-term or short-term reward associated with it. To complete each task, you can’t just rely on your skills alone but also the boosts and power-ups you have at your disposal. And there you have it—a recipe for academic success.

Think about your next big exam as one such mission. There will be plenty of those during your four years at university. Don’t be afraid to use the power-ups or resources available to you. This includes everything from libraries, tutoring centers, and online courses to professors’ office hours and study groups. These resources are there to help you succeed, and if you're paying to go to university, chances are you don’t have to pay extra to access these resources. It would be foolish not to use them to your advantage. For example, if you’re struggling with a subject, a tutor can offer you the extra help you need. If you need a quiet place to study, the library is perfect. You get the gist.

6) Just Put in the Hours

Remember how I mentioned that there are genuinely gifted geniuses and then there are those who seem like gifted geniuses but aren't? Something I wish I realized sooner is that these “fake geniuses” are among the hardest working people I've ever met, which should come as no surprise. But instead of going the usual route and telling you to just study (as if our teachers and professors don’t do that enough), I want to give you one crucial piece of advice when it comes to working hard.

I put in my fair share of hours in high school, but my grades never reflected that. Why? Because I didn’t work on what was important. The modern-day education system doesn’t treat everything with equal importance, and regardless of where you are in the world or what curriculum you follow, you know that some topics are simply more important than others. The trick is to build the skill of identifying which topics are high priority and which are low priority. Try to spend more time working harder on the high priority (usually more difficult) topics for your next exam, and you will see a world of difference.

In a nutshell, you could get very close to genius-level performance if you just put in the hours. Work for as long as it takes. Work through happiness, sadness, ups, and downs. Work when you succeed and when you fail. And most importantly, work smarter. That’s the crux of it all—you just have to keep working to get to where you want to be. This is my main mantra for life, and as you will see, I have built myself up from the ground using this ideology. One last thing: remember, not all geniuses are experts, but all experts are definitely close to genius status.

7) You Will Never Be the Best in the Room

Another thing I should have learned earlier in life, which would have saved me a whole world of mental distress, is that you will never be the best at everything you do. Sure, you may have a knack for certain things, but not everything. Now, I don’t mean to belittle you; it’s just the harsh reality and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you start to elevate yourself. There will always be someone who is a tad better than you at boxing, someone who just does math faster, or someone who is better at writing, whether it be through talent, hard work, or circumstances. So, stop trying to grow your ego to the point of believing that you know best. Instead, use this to your advantage. Next time you are writing an essay, show it to your friend who writes articles in her free time. Or if you are trying to ace your next math exam, talk to your resident math wiz. The point is, don’t be afraid to seek help, always listen to constructive feedback, and act on it. Don’t take this in a negative light, thinking, "Oh, this person thinks so highly of themselves." No, they probably have a bunch of pointers that could take your life from a 6 to an 8.

This is something I started doing from the moment I stepped into university. I began looking for mentors, people who were simply a lot better at things that I wanted to be good at, and trust me, three years later, I feel like I have learned more than I ever could. Whether it be elevating academically, socially, or mentally.

So, these are my 7 tips on how you can become an academic weapon. Now, I know most of these tips don’t really talk about the usual stuff like how long you should study per day or applying studying techniques like blurting or active recall. Don’t worry, I will be working on specific blog posts for each of them. This is just to get you guys going for the time being. Something general to revamp your life and something I wish someone had told me when I was stuck in that place.

If you have made it this far, I just want to say that you are an inspiration to someone without even knowing it. So, keep hustling, keep leveling up, and keep chasing your dreams. I will catch you all in the next post.